The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the statutory H-1B cap of 65,000 for fiscal year 2014.

The cap was reached within the first week of the filing period. USCIS has received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption. The H-1B program is used by organizations to employ foreign workers in occupations requiring specialized expertise such as science, engineering, and computer programming.

USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are exempt from the cap to extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the U.S., change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers, allow current H-1B workers to change employers, and allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.